It’s one thing to have bad credit because of things you did, like late payments or defaults. But it’s another to be dinged for a mistake by a creditor or even the credit reporting agency. How should you deal with these errors that may be pulling your credit score down?

The first step is to discover them. Be sure to order your credit reports on a regular basis from www.annualcreditreport.com and from the 3 majorcredit reporting agencies. It’s important to get copies from each—they are all independent.

If you find an error from a specific creditor, go right to that creditor. If possible, share documentation with them that shows their information is incorrect or was previously resolved. Don’t assume that the sales person or clerk that you dealt with is communicating with the finance department.

Go directly to the credit agency if the inaccuracy is based on incorrect public information—say a judgment or bad contact information.

How should you get in touch with the credit agency? They’ll probably insist that you start with their preferred system of communication—online. That may limit your ability to provide supplementary information or explain your unique circumstances so don’t be surprised if you don’t get resolution initially. Be ready to take it to the next level with a letter or phone call(s).

The creditor and the credit reporting agencies generally have 30 days to respond. If you’re not happy with the result, keep putting your documented concerns in writing and copy the people and organizations that will get their attention: the Better Business Bureau, the State Attorney General, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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